Related News
Fire in Russian nightclub kills at least 101
Source: Agencies |
December 5, 2009, Saturday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
AT least 101 people were killed and 140 injured yesterday when hundreds of people stampeded out of a packed Russian nightclub after fireworks sparked a blaze, the Emergencies Ministry said.
Clubbers rushed for the doors of the Lame Horse nightclub in the centre of Perm, a city of 1.2 million near the Ural mountains, after a firework show went disastrously wrong at about 11:15pm.
"The number of dead is 101 people, 140 people are receiving medical help ... 85 are seriously injured," Interfax quoted a local health official as saying.
A witness said dozens of charred bodies were piled on the pavement outside the club as medics moved the injured into ambulances. Blood-covered women in evening clothes lay on stretchers as scores of policemen swarmed around.
The fire follows a train bombing last Friday which killed 26 and injured more than 100 on a train traveling between Moscow and St Petersburg, for which Chechen Islamist militants claimed responsibility.
That blast stoked fears that Russia could face a nationwide bombing campaign, but Russian officials played down any links between the train attack and yesterday's nightclub disaster.
"We are not talking about a terrorist attack," Oleg Chirkunov, the governor of Perm region, 1,150 km east of Moscow, told Vesti-24.
Detectives said they did not suspect a bomb attack.
"A firework blast sparked a blaze," a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry said, but declined to give further details.
Witnesses quoted by local media said a stray firework sparked a fire during a stage show at the 500 square meter club, prompting panic as hundreds of clubbers rushed for the exits.
"I've just spoken to a friend who was there," said a posting on popular forum www.teron.ru, which serves the Perm region.
"He says there was no blast, everything flared up from the fireworks. Many people were cut off from the exit and suffocated as a result," the posting said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the formation of a government commission to deal with the incident.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu, Health Minister Tatyana Golikova and Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts.
Clubbers rushed for the doors of the Lame Horse nightclub in the centre of Perm, a city of 1.2 million near the Ural mountains, after a firework show went disastrously wrong at about 11:15pm.
"The number of dead is 101 people, 140 people are receiving medical help ... 85 are seriously injured," Interfax quoted a local health official as saying.
A witness said dozens of charred bodies were piled on the pavement outside the club as medics moved the injured into ambulances. Blood-covered women in evening clothes lay on stretchers as scores of policemen swarmed around.
The fire follows a train bombing last Friday which killed 26 and injured more than 100 on a train traveling between Moscow and St Petersburg, for which Chechen Islamist militants claimed responsibility.
That blast stoked fears that Russia could face a nationwide bombing campaign, but Russian officials played down any links between the train attack and yesterday's nightclub disaster.
"We are not talking about a terrorist attack," Oleg Chirkunov, the governor of Perm region, 1,150 km east of Moscow, told Vesti-24.
Detectives said they did not suspect a bomb attack.
"A firework blast sparked a blaze," a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry said, but declined to give further details.
Witnesses quoted by local media said a stray firework sparked a fire during a stage show at the 500 square meter club, prompting panic as hundreds of clubbers rushed for the exits.
"I've just spoken to a friend who was there," said a posting on popular forum www.teron.ru, which serves the Perm region.
"He says there was no blast, everything flared up from the fireworks. Many people were cut off from the exit and suffocated as a result," the posting said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the formation of a government commission to deal with the incident.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu, Health Minister Tatyana Golikova and Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
